Devastated but helping

The Noack family was among those reaching out. Noack’s employer, O.K. Johnson Electric Inc., provided a generator and his powered home became a neighborhood hub.

For a week and a half, the family welcomed a steady stream of neighbors and the police officers, National Guardsmen and Forbes Air Force Base personnel securing the area. Families in the two homes still standing to the north of the Noacks — Larry and Eldene Woellhof and Jim and Ades Emery — also pitched in.

Large 25-cup coffee pots were kept filled, soda pop was purchased to share, and heaping piles of cold sandwiches – lunchmeat, ham salad, egg salad – were prepared for those cleaning up their stricken homes. The Noack garage became a temporary shelter for lost pets. Those seeking a break could find a card game or watch television.

“We had a good time at a bad time,” said Noack, soon dubbed the neighborhood “mayor.” “Everyone was congenial. Everybody was smiling, laughing, joking.”

Noack joined others helping to ensure the area was safe and secure. The first night, that meant going up and down streets shutting off gas valves, and later it was bringing in tar paper that his company helped provide and covering the exposed lower levels of damaged bi-level homes nearby.

“We did what we could do, and we worked through it,” said Noack, who lives in the same home to this day. “We felt lucky that we could help those that didn’t have anything.”